Episodios
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In this episode of Citizen One, Exploring Our Urban Future, an urbanNext original podcast series, world-renowned concept artist Olivier Pron (Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, Harry Potter) returns along with Judd Payne, president of IDEA (www.idea.la) and veteran film and television producer (Cherry, Mile 22, Bernie, Southland Tales). They sit down with host Doug McDaniel to explore in detail the unexpected intersection of Hollywood creatives and real-world city design in NEOM.
Over the last six years, Judd and Olivier and their creative teams have been applying cinematic storytelling and speculative design to urban planning, shaping ambitious smart city projects across Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. What happens when you bring science fiction aesthetics into urban futurism? Can Hollywood’s pre-visualization techniques help architects and engineers build the cities of tomorrow?
Doug, Judd, and Olivier dive into:
* How Hollywood was recruited to help design NEOM—the vision behind bringing the best production designers, concept artists, and worldbuilders into large-scale urban planning.
* The skepticism they faced from traditional architects and engineers—and how they gradually earned credibility.
* The evolution of The Line’s design, including Olivier’s winning proposal for the Hidden Marina, a breathtaking megastructure featuring a 300-meter-high gateway capable of accommodating the world’s largest cruise ships.
* The challenge of making NEOM’s vertical city feel human, focusing on livability, storytelling, and the importance of creating districts that foster real urban experiences, not just futuristic spectacle.
* Saudi Arabia’s rapid cultural transformation, from blockbuster concerts and new public spaces to the shifting role of entertainment and creativity in the Kingdom’s future.
Through their experiences, Judd and Olivier reveal how creativity, imagination and worldbuilding aren’t just for film—they’re shaping the future of cities.
🔊 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
📩 Got thoughts? Leave a review or join the conversation at multiversethinking.com/citizenone.
00:00 Introduction
01:35 Backgrounds of Judd Payne and Olivier Pron
04:57 IDEA’s Journey from Hollywood to NEOM
09:31 The Role of Hollywood in Urban Design
12:13 Adapting Skills for Future Reality
17:26 Building Trust with Engineers and Architects
26:51 The Importance of Storytelling in Urban Design
31:45 The Hidden Marina Design and Its Significance
44:02 The Scale of Architectural Marvels
51:11 Creating a Human-Centric Urban Experience
58:28 Cultural Transformation in Saudi Arabia
01:07:19 Saudi Arabia's Global Influence and Innovation
01:17:17 The Intersection of Entertainment and Urbanism
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit multiversethinking.substack.com -
In this Citizen One Spotlight episode, we sit down with Alex McDowell, the visionary production designer behind Fight Club, Minority Report, and Man of Steel, to explore how worldbuilding extends far beyond Hollywood.
McDowell takes us through his unconventional career path—from designing music videos in 1977 London to reshaping how films visualize the future. He shares insights from Minority Report, where he and his team built a future reality before a script even existed, collaborating with MIT Media Lab, DARPA, Apple, and Lexus to ground the film’s world in real technological foresight. This pioneering approach ultimately led McDowell to formalize worldbuilding as a narrative design system, developing his now-famous worldbuilding mandala.
But McDowell didn’t stop at cinema. His work at USC, 5D Global Studio, and real-world projects like Al Bayda demonstrates how cinematic storytelling techniques can solve complex urban challenges. He discusses how worldbuilding was applied to help a Bedouin community transition into a new living environment, using narrative to bridge cultural and technological divides.
This episode offers a deep dive into the evolution of worldbuilding, its role in urban design and future cities, and how McDowell continues to “fall forward” into new frontiers.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit multiversethinking.substack.com -
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Citizen One Podcast – Episode 1 Summary
Title: Worldbuilding the Street Corner of the Future: The Fight Club of UrbanismGuests: Alex McDowell & Olivier Pron
Welcome to the premiere episode of Citizen One, an urbanNext original podcast series where we explore the minds shaping the cities of tomorrow. Host Douglas Stuart McDaniel is joined by Alex McDowell, pioneering production designer and world-building expert, and Olivier Pron, leading concept artist and futurist.
The discussion begins by tracing McDowell’s career evolution from designing immersive film worlds (Minority Report, Fight Club, Man of Steel) to applying cinematic world-building methodologies to real-world urban projects like NEOM and the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Future World Vision. He discusses how futuristic design principles translate into tangible urban solutions, using Minority Report and Fight Club as case studies in how Hollywood’s predictive storytelling has influenced real-world technologies.
Pron shares his journey from crafting visually iconic cinematic worlds (Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy) to redefining real-world architecture and urban landscapes in Saudi Arabia. His contributions to NEOM’s Line and Hidden Marina showcase how digital visualization and immersive design techniques push the limits of urban innovation.
Key Themes Explored:
✅ World-Building as a Design Tool – How Hollywood’s approach to storytelling and world-building is now influencing architecture and urban planning.✅ NEOM’s Vision and Constraints – The unique challenges and opportunities presented by Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, and how designers are navigating a blank canvas at an unprecedented scale.✅ From Science Fiction to Future Reality – The parallels between cinematic world-building and urban master planning, and how predictive storytelling informs next-generation city design.✅ Provocation and Constraints in Design – How tension, constraints, and visionary leadership (whether from Hollywood directors or Saudi leadership) drive innovation in both industries.✅ The Power of Visualization – Why narrative architects are essential in translating complex urban plans into immersive, experiential design, ensuring cities are built with human-centric experiences in mind.✅ AI, Digital Twins & Immersive Design – How AI-driven simulations, VR, and game engines like Unreal are revolutionizing architecture and construction by allowing designers to prototype cities before they’re built.
The conversation underscores the fusion of storytelling, data, and design in shaping the cities of the future. McDowell and Pron emphasize the importance of narrative in urban design, where a strong vision must be translated into human-centered environments that inspire, adapt, and evolve.
As our host and guests put it, “The revolution won’t just be televised—it will be immersive, 5D, and gamified.”
00:00 Introduction
01:31 Alex McDowell's Journey in World Building
10:51 Olivier Pron's Perspective on World Building
14:16 The Role of Vision and Constraints in Design
22:22 Al Bayda Project: A Case Study in Urban Visual Language
29:10 NEOM: The Future of Urban Design
32:45 The Human Experience and Its Implications
34:05 Narrative as a Framework for Vision
35:59 Designing Within Constraints
38:47 The Role of Collaboration in Design
41:10 Vision and Consistency in Project Development
43:04 The Intersection of Film and Architecture
44:45 Pushing the Boundaries of Production
47:32 The Role of Narrative Architects
49:31 The Unique Nature of Film Production
52:13 Bridging the Gap Between Industries
57:20 The Importance of 3D Visualization
01:03:54 Data-Driven Design and User Experience
01:14:35 Urban Development and Real-Time Data Simulation
01:15:32 Vision 2030 and Mythical Tomorrow
01:18:43 Cultural Transformation and Architectural Vision
01:22:46 Technology as a User Experience
01:27:28 Visual Storytelling in Urban Design
01:33:48 The Importance of Point of View in Design
01:38:40 Storytelling as a Tool for Future Industries
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit multiversethinking.substack.com -
Cities are humanity’s grandest experiment—where ambition, architecture, and technology collide. But what happens when we stop adapting cities to the past and start designing them for the future? Hosted by Douglas Stuart McDaniel—author, innovation veteran, and accidental urbanist—Citizen One explores the forces shaping the cities of tomorrow.
Drawing from McDaniel’s experience in urban research at NEOM, Saudi Arabia, and decades spent on nuclear, space, and infrastructure megaprojects, this series goes beyond smart cities to examine the living cities that endure. Inspired by his upcoming book, Citizen One: Our Cities, Ourselves, and Our Uncertain Yet Extraordinary Future (Fast Company Press, Fall 2025), the podcast brings together leading thinkers and innovators to challenge assumptions, explore bold ideas, and redefine urban life.
From futuristic cityscapes to the everyday spaces we inhabit, Citizen One is a call to action—rethinking how we build, adapt, and thrive in the urban age. This is Citizen One—where we explore the future of cities, together.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit multiversethinking.substack.com
